Lauren-Megan Botha

Tierney

2/28/2017

What form of slavery is most dangerous and present in our modern society ?

Theft of The Human Soul

Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is

a form of slavery.-Wayne Dyer. Slavery has plagued the worlds global economy since 1860

BC. Types of slavery include forced labor, bonded labor, human trafficking, sex slavery, and

child slavery (National Underground Railroad Freedom Center). Human trafficking is an issue

that demands action though it is going to escalate the control of local and national law

enforcement soon.

Out of these various forms of human bondage, human trafficking has become most

lucrative in the modern world. In 1993 a seventeen-year-old girl, Dina Chan, found herself in a

pig slaughterhouse locked in a small dark cell (Chan). A worker of the pig slaughter house had

bought Chan from a pimp in Stung Treng. The worker had brought Chan to the slaughter house

and returned with six other men shortly. That night not a soul besides the six men in the

warehouse would hear Chans cries as each man took their turn sexually assaulting and raping

her, one man raping her twice. Dina Chan, a seventeen-year-old girl who had been sent by her

low-income family to study in Phnom Penh in a cultural school, was sexual, emotionally,

physically, and mentally depredated. Chans story is not unique. According to the United

Nations, around 2.5 million people are trapped in the cruel and brutal cycle of human trafficking.
Lauren-Megan Botha

Tierney

2/28/2017

Human trafficking has developed in a world beleaguered by greed and insecurity, and many

obstacles stand in the way of those who seek freedom.

In all cases of injustice, one may instinctively turn to law enforcement. However, instead of

aiding those ensnared in slavery, statistics show that some law enforcement is doing the

opposite. According to journalist Noy Thrupkaew, in study after study, in countries ranging from

Bangladesh to the United States, between 20 and 60 percent of the people in the sex trade who

were surveyed said that they had been raped or assaulted by the police in the past year

alone(Thrupkaew). Some of those who have been trafficked into prostitution have received

convictions for prostitution. Convictions like these given in circumstances that cannot be

controlled by those who receive them could very easily deprive those desiring escape from the

torment of modern slavery. Convictions make it more difficult to enroll in a university, get a job,

all things that would empower those abused to take control of their life situation. Considering

those outside of sex trafficking, if an individual resisted what they are being forced into,

employers very easily call upon law enforcement to threaten or beat resisters into submission.

Out of twenty-one million victims of human trafficking, law enforcement has only managed to

help and identify less than fifty thousand people. Law enforcements corruption has not only led

to victims to being assaulted and raped by officers but a lack of meeting global issues with

expected behavior and effort.

Sex trafficking is an issue that impacts both men and women, thus indeed demanding all of

our society to see this issue as a threat to global civility. Though law enforcement corruption is a
Lauren-Megan Botha

Tierney

2/28/2017

challenging issue to address in any level of developing or undeveloped country and increase in

lawful integrity would combat sex trafficking as it would help officers focus on tracking down

those who are in charge of large scale slavery operations. Increasing integrity would also help

individuals concentrate on the importance of helping victims feel safe and helping them escape

the pit of social-economic consequences of being taken sexual advantage of. Next time

someone mentions modern slavery without considering sex slavery I ask that you intervene and

remind them of a big abhorrent side of the issue that so often goes undiscussed.
Lauren-Megan Botha

Tierney

2/28/2017

Works Cited

"Learn about Five Forms of Slavery | National Underground Railroad Freedom Center."

Learn about Five Forms of Slavery | National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. National

Underground Railroad Freedom Center, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

Chan, Dina. "Modern Slave Story | Sex Trafficking." End Slavery Now. NCW, n.d. Web. 26

Feb. 2017.

Thrupkaew, Noy. "Transcript of "Human Trafficking Is All around You. This Is How It

Works"."Noy Thrupkaew: Human Trafficking Is All around You. This Is How It Works | TED Talk

Subtitles and Transcript | TED.com. Human Trafficking Is All around You. This Is How It Works, n.d.

Web. 26 Feb. 2017.